Vermont State Flower

Red Clover

Adopted:1894

Vermont State Flower: Red Clover

Adoption of the Vermont State Flower

Inspired by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and its National Garland of Flowers, Vermonters were determined to adopt an official state floral emblem that would uniquely represent their state.

On October 19, 1894 a concurrent resolution to adopt an official flower was introduced in the Vermont House. A special committee, comprised of one member from each of Vermont's fourteen counties, took the matter under consideration.

Vermonters campaigned hard for their favorites. The daisy, trailing arbutus, the posy, mayflower, the buttercup, and red clover were among the flowers preferred by citizens of the state.

When all the votes were counted, the red clover won the day with 9,575 votes, a resounding statement from the state's farmers. The daisy followed with 2,569 votes and the buttercup garnered third place with 945 votes.

On November 8, a bill was amended to specify the red clover as the state's official flower.

The next day, on November 9, 1894, the red clover was adopted as the state flower by the Thirteenth Biennial Session of the General Assembly with an effective date of February 1, 1895.

From the Vermont Secretary of State:

No. 159 of the Acts of 1894, effective February 1, 1895, designated the Red Clover as the official State Flower. Both an integral part of many a cultivated hay field and a common sight along numerous Vermont roadsides, the Red Clover is symbolic of Vermont's scenic countryside generally and of its dairy farms in particular. Oddly enough, however, Trifolium pratense is not a native of Vermont but was "naturalized" from Europe.

------ from Office of the Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory and State Manual,Biennial Session,1993-1994,p.15.

The Vermont Statutes

The following information is excerpted from the Vermont Statutes, Title 1 Chapter 11,
Section 498.

State Birds & Flowers 1000-pc Puzzle:
Created at the request of The National Wildlife Federation this design is a beautiful and informative puzzle featuring every state bird perched on the appropriate state flower.

State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book
by Annika Bernhard - 51 accurately detailed, copyright-free renderings include national bird (eagle) and flower (rose) plus 50 state birds and flowers.

State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols:
A Study based on historical documents giving the origin and significance of the state names, nicknames, mottoes, seals,
flowers, birds, songs, and descriptive comments on the capitol buildings and on some of the leading state histories,
Revised Edition - George Earlie Shankle, Ph.D., The H.W. Wilson Company, 1938 (Reprint Services Corp. 1971)